24. THE GOLDEN APPLES

There once was a fat and jolly pig, who loved wallowing in the mud all day long. From sunrise to sunset, he would lie in the mud pool and wallow in the mire, to his great delight. He only left the pool occasionally to go and eat some vegetables that were growing nearby. Or sometimes he ate the fruit off the lower branches of the fruit trees. Then he immediately went back to the mud pool to wallow in the mire. Among the fruit trees was a beautiful golden apple tree, that is, a tree that bore lovely golden apples. But the pig never ate the golden apples because when he was small his mother told him they made a too heavy a meal for a pig. So, he spent his days lying in the mud, and from time to time eating fruit and vegetables. And life was good. Yet there came a day that there were no more vegetables nearby to eat, and the pig became very hungry. He looked over at the golden apple tree, and yes, it was laden with rich, round golden apples. He thought of his mother's advice for a while, but temptation soon got the better of him, so he strolled over to the golden apple tree. He ate a few golden apples off the lower branches, and they were truly delicious, so he ate few more. However, he soon realized that his mother had been right about them being a heavy meal, as his tummy sagged to the ground from the weight. He strolled over to the mud pool to cool off and ease the pressure on his tummy. He went in deep and relaxed, rolling over from time to time. When it was time to get out, he maneuvered himself through the mud towards the bank, and started to climb out. But because of the weight of the golden apples the pig could not lift his body out of the mud and became stuck. He tried and tried, but his every effort was in vain. And as he became tired, he slipped back deeper into the mud, and began to sink away. And in the end, the weight of the golden apples in is stomach, pulled the pig below and drowned him. The lure of gold weighs down heavy sometimes.